UO Denver News

Over the last couple of months, we have felt prompted to engage with our awesome volunteers in a different type of setting. We are so thankful for the ways in which we already have the privilege of spending time with you all, whether it is on a Monday night at our Little Rascals program, during the summer months at our kids camp, on a weekend during an outreach, or on Thursday nights at Community Dinners. But we wanted to spend more time seeking God together, being in His presence in worship and praying with and for each other. So we…

As worship leaders, we often think it’s our mission to cultivate experiences where the drums crescendo and the lights dance against the fog machine so the crowd is swept up in the moment and throws their hands skyward as they cry out about the majesty of God. This is how I always imagined a perfect worship set. But then again, the Lord seems to enjoy leading me to places I never imagined I’d go. You see, I grew up in church. I have been leading worship since middle school. At 20, I moved from my hometown of Seattle to New…

It’s hard to forget the way I felt the evening of May 23, 2013. Growing up in church and surrounded for the most part by a safe and secure environment, I had grown to associate the safety of a decent upbringing that every child should experience with the way I thought everyone’s church experience should be: safe and secure. Yet here I was, about to stand in front of a cast of misfits: the neglected and forgotten of their families, the hurting and broken people of society that had become my friends. We were about to have church with a…

Finally, the weather has cooled down, the leaves have turned color, and Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Not only is this a fun time to enjoy as a family as we look ahead to Thanksgiving, but it is also a time when we look forward to serving our neighborhood and teaching about all that we have to be thankful for all year long. And as the weather continues to turn, we have already given away loads of blankets, coats, gloves and sleeping bags, and it’s just the beginning! After a busy September that involved traveling the country from coast to coast,…

The following post was written by Jaime Olivarez. It is a firsthand account of a conversation that happened here in Five Points. Sadly, these accounts happen with too much regularity. This story is told to help you pray with focus and compassion. Thank you. We were walking to our favorite local coffee shop in Five Points called Coffee at the Point. A woman approached us and asked for money — $2.50. We rarely carry cash and we knew this request was for drug money. Even though we said no, she continued to walk with us. The next half hour was…

No amount of thinking, planning and preparing can replace time spent in prayer. And the cool thing about prayer is that the Holy Spirit guides people to pray with and for you, both in times of rejoicing and requesting. During this UO Denver project the last two years, and now during the pre-launch phase of the City Life Church project, we have depended upon the fervent prayers of the many we have met in churches across the USA. One person in particular has felt God’s leading to daily prayer covering our family, ministry and team. We were so encouraged by a recent e-mail…

UO Denver friends, God is truly at work in Denver. This video gives you some quick highlights of 2012 and takes you with us to where we see God leading us for 2013. But let me give you and example of just what God is doing here. Last June, Jaime and I met a woman named *Gerilynn (name has been changed to protect identity) on the streets of Five Points. In the span of about 45 minutes, she began telling us the story of her life of addiction, hardship and depression. I remember her telling us, “I don’t know why, but…

On Saturday, December 8 we hosted 20 families at the UO Denver building and threw a huge Christmas party for them. There were a total of 43 kids, and with the parents and their kids, and volunteers, there was about 150 people crammed into our newly renovated sanctuary! We were grateful to partner with Grace Community Church in Centennial, CO, and Crossroads Victory in Montrose, CO. These churches provided teams to who came in and not only provided Christmas stockings for each child, but also a Christmas present for each child. We were privileged to serve the Early Excellence program, a school…

We have already been receiving many inquiries from churches and youth groups about bringing teams to Denver next summer for short-term missions opportunities. If you have any interest in bringing a team for one day or one week, please contact us as soon as possible because spots are filling up quickly!

After five months of renovations, we are excited to announce that we have completed the renovation process at the UO Denver building. And in keeping with our ministry model, we did it completely debt free! Now that this project is finished, we can focus on continuing to establish a ministry presence in the historic Five Points community of inner city Denver. We recently held our second annual Coat Outreach in Curtis Park, where we distributed more than 500 winter jackets, along with food and clothes just in time for the cold winter months ahead. Since June, we’ve hosted more than 10…